Walking on the Moon

gga

There are now nine people in the world who have walked on the moon,
and unless something dramatic happens …, it won't be long before
there are none. That might not mean anything to a lot of you, because
you are, I am led to understand, young people, and the moonwalks
didn't happen in your lifetime. … But it means a lot to me, and
Andrew Smith, and when the Apollo missions, the future as we
understood it, become history, then something will be lost from our
psyches. But what do you care? Oh, go back to your hip-hop and your
computer games and your promiscuity. (Or your virginity. I forget
which one your generation is into at the moment.)

The Complete Polysyllabic Spree, Nick Hornby

A passing reference to Nick Hornby led to me picking up this
book again and re-reading one of his columns. At random. And that
perfect little précis of what happened to the future we were promised
was buried in there. The whole collection is replete with such
examples.